Tabata Workout-everyone has four minutes

Many of my clients and bootcamp participants have been hearing me talk about and have participated in Tabata training the last few weeks. The reason for this excitement is the effectiveness of the style. For those not familiar with tabata it is 20 seconds of all out intensity followed by 10 seconds of recovery. This is repeated 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. There are a few different types of tabata training depending on how many exercises are chosen. The key is to push yourself to your max (90-95 % of your maximum heart rate)for the 20 seconds. STOPPING is not an option. There are many ways to modify the exercise to keep you moving.
This type of training is not for the faint of heart, but the effectiveness of it should be motivation enough to make you want to push as hard as you can. In the four minutes of work for a cardio exercise most individuals burn around 60-70 calories. The amazing part is that in the 24 hours after the exercise bout a person burns on average an extra 300 calories due to the Excess Post Exercise Consumption (EPOC). That would equate around a 3 mile run or 45 minutes on an elliptical machine. What would you rather due? Everyone has four minutes so there should be no excuses.
I am excited to have a whole Tabata Bootcamp available come January to take full advantage of this training style. In the mean time here is a great exercise for you to work with.

• Download a Tabata Timer for your IPad for phone for ease of timing.
• Jog in place for around a minute.
• Place a cone, water bottle, chair or other stationary object in front of you. This is your marker. The lower the marker the harder the exercise. Adjust your marker height depending on your fitness level.
• The exercise is star jumps. With your feet together bend over and touch your marker always leading with your backside.
• Level 1 perform a half jumping jack extending one foot while raising your arms up overhead.
• Level 2 perform a full jumping jack powering your foot out and raising your arms up overhead.
• Level 3 perform a full star jump lifting your feet out to the sides and up as high as your can simultaneously raising your arms up over head.
• With each round start with the highest level that you can muster. Even if it is only a few repetitions and then you have to work with the lower level.
• Psych yourself up for this activity. Doing it with a friend to help encourage you can make a huge difference in the level of intensity you end up doing.

Stay tuned for more great Tabata Bootcamp information!